The present disclosure relates generally to heat transfer systems and, more particularly, to methods and systems for utilizing thermal energy in the form of heat produced by a fuel cell module and/or utilizing heat stored in a phase change material thermal energy storage module.
Known aircraft include a plurality of engines that generate lifting power. At least some known aircraft include electrical components that require electricity to operate. To provide electricity to such electrical components, at least some known aircraft extract power from the engines. However, supplying electricity from the engines to the electrical components increases an overall fuel consumption of the engine. To facilitate reducing electrical demand from the engines, at least some known aircraft include fuel cells that generate power for use in powering onboard electrical components. However, at least some known aircraft do not efficiently utilize electricity and/or byproducts generated by the fuel cell.